Another Russian Anti-War Activist Forced To Leave Serbia, NGO Says
Another Russian anti-war activist has been denied a request for a temporary residency permit in Serbia and ordered to leave the country, the Russian Democratic Society announced on October 16.
The organization said in a statement that the decision showed that the "persecution of Russian citizens in Serbia due to their anti-war views unfortunately continues."
The Serbian Interior Ministry (MUP) on September 16 rejected Anton Bobryshev's request for a temporary residency permit based on ownership of real estate and ordered him to leave the country within 30 days.
Three days later, the MUP issued a new decision ordering him to leave the country within 30 days.
Petr Nikitin of the Russian Democratic Society told RFE/RL that Bobryshev filed appeals against both decisions.
Bobryshev's lawyer also submitted a request to the Administrative Court to postpone the order to leave the country, which could not be carried out while the appeal process on the refusal of temporary residence is ongoing.
Nikitin said Bobryshev participated in anti-war rallies in Belgrade and organized a rally in June 2023 in Pancevo, a city northeast of Belgrade, in support of opposition politician and Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny, who died in prison in Russia in February.
RFE/RL asked the MUP to clarify the decision not to allow Bobryshev to stay temporarily in Serbia but did not receive an answer.
Bobryshev and his wife moved to Serbia eight years ago.
The cancellation of the temporary residency permits of certain members of the Russian diaspora who participated in anti-war protests began in the summer of 2023 after the United States imposed sanctions on the then-director of the Security Agency (BIA), Aleksandar Vulin, due to his ties to Russia and other things.
In July 2023, a temporary residency permit was denied to anti-war activist Vladimir Volokhonsky, and then a month later to Yevgeny Irzansky. Both had expressed a clear anti-war attitude toward Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In both cases, the MUP said that there were "security obstacles" to extending their stay.
In March 2024, the MUP refused to issue a permanent residency permit to the three-member Russian family Tereh. The reason for the refusal was also linked to security.
A more recent example is the case of Yelena Koposova, a Russian citizen whose application for permanent residence was rejected for the second time in August. The MUP explained the decision by saying that the security service had data "which is an obstacle to the approval of its request."
Koposova, a literary translator from St. Petersburg, moved to Serbia with her husband and two children in 2019 and purchased a house.
The police and the BIA have not responded to RFE/RL's inquiries since the banning of Russian citizens who oppose the war began in the summer of 2023.
Serbia has refused to join Western sanctions against Russia for 2 1/2 years, and Serbian officials are among the few in Europe who meet with Kremlin officials.
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